Door comprising an insulating glazing and electric household appliance provided with said door

ABSTRACT

A door for a refrigerator device including a frame and an insulation glazing which includes at least one external pane and an internal pane fixed to the external pane and forming a tight intermediate space. The frame is fixed to the external pane in a marginal area of the external pane and extending over the edge of the internal pane. A gap between the internal pane and the frame is filled by sealing strips.

The present invention relates to a door, especially for a household appliance which is fitted with a heat-insulating glazing comprising at least two panes defining an intermediate space.

A refrigerator with an insulated glazed door is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,414. The door of this refrigerator is substantially constructed of two glass panels held at a fixed distance from one another by two spacers, of which the outer panel projects by a small distance over the inner panel in an edge zone in order to provide a working surface for a hinge for pivoting the door. In this edge zone the spacer is also lengthened beyond the edge of the inner panel in order to form a contact surface to which a plate of the hinge can be screwed. Since the hinge plate and the spacer must generally be made of metal for reasons of mechanical stability, a poor thermal insulation action of the door is obtained in this edge zone. There is thus a risk that condensation will deposit externally on this poorly insulated area of the door which, if not removed, can result in damage.

The formation of condensation could certainly be avoided by electrical heating using heating wires attached to the surface of the outer glass panel but this type of heating increases both the manufacturing costs of the appliance and also, as a result of intensified heat input exactly at a weak point of the thermal insulation, the power consumption of the appliance during operation and thus its operating costs.

A heat-insulating door for a household appliance having the features of the preamble of claim 1 is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,421. This door is primarily described as a door for a baking oven but should also be suitable for refrigerators. This door comprises a frame made of sheet metal which ends on an outer side flush with a front glass plate and in which a viewing opening is cut. On the inside of the front glass plate a first inner pane is held by a spacer profile. In order to prevent direct heat exchange between an interior of the household appliance and the inside of the front glass plate as a result of air circulation, a second inner pane is disposed in the viewing opening.

It is thus the object of the present invention to provide a door having a simplified structure which is better suited than the known door for use on a refrigerator.

A feasible possibility for simplifying the door from U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,421 would be to omit one of the two inner panes. However, the problem then arises that if the second inner pane is omitted, air can flow through the viewing window directly as far as the back of the outer pane, resulting in very poor insulation.

If the first inner pane is omitted however, the problem arises that the intermediate space between the two remaining panes is difficult to seal so that there is a risk of moisture depositing in the intermediate space.

The object is solved by a door having the features of claim 1. Since the frame is not part of the insulating glazing, this insulating glazing can be pre-fabricated inexpensively by a technique known per se and inserted in the door as a unit. The sealing strip prevents direct circulation of air between the frame and the inner pane as far as the back of the outer pane and thus ensure a good insulating effect.

In order to achieve a good sealing effect of the sealing strip even when the dimensions of the frame vary, the sealing strip is preferably compressible.

An additional measure for improving the insulating effect of the door is to divide the frame into an outer frame part which can consist of metal in the conventional fashion, an inner frame part adjacent to the inner pane and a thermal insulating element joining the two frame parts.

The sealing strip is appropriately attached between the inner frame part and the inner pane.

The thermal insulation element is preferably a plastic profile element, especially a plastic profile, which engages in positive-contact in grooves at least in the outer frame part. In order to effect a reliable coherence between the frame part and the insulation element, the grooves are at least locally undercut.

A particularly high insulation effect can be achieved with a thermal insulation element embodied as a hollow profile.

As a result of a preferred embodiment, the frame does not extend over the edge of the outer pane so that it is not visible for an observer looking at the door from the front and gives the impression that the door is formed substantially by the outer pane.

The frame is preferably connected to the outer frame by gluing. In order to conceal this type of gluing or other means for fixing the outer pane on the frame, the outer pane is provided with opaque decoration at least in its edge area. In order to protect it from damage, the decoration is preferably attached to the surface of the outer pane facing the inner pane.

A flexible sealing profile which is provided to abut in an airtight fashion against the body of the household appliance when a door mounted on a household appliance is closed and thus to seal its interior, is preferably retained in a groove of the frame which is bounded at least by the inner frame part and the thermal insulation element.

A good insulation effect with a small thickness of the door at the same time can be achieved if the inner frame part, the thermal insulation element and the outer frame part are adjacent to one another from inside to outside not or not only in the thickness direction of the door but primarily transverse thereto, in a plane parallel to the inner pane of the door.

Further features and advantages of the invention are obtained from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the appended figures. In the figures:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wine store cupboard as an example of a household appliance with a door according to the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a section through an edge region of the door and parts of the refrigerator body adjacent thereto.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a bottle store cupboard as an example of a refrigerator with a door according to the invention. The body 1 of the bottle store cupboard can be free-standing or constructed as a built-in model as shown here. Whereas in most built-in refrigerators in the built-in state, the front of the door is covered by a furniture panel, the door 2 of the appliance shown here is provided to remain freely visible in the built-in state.

The outside of the door is formed by a glass panel 3 which is glued at its back to a frame 4 made of metal. Acting on the frame 4 are two hinge supports 5 fixedly connected to the body 1 of which only the upper one can be seen in the figure. An inner glass panel 6 (see FIG. 2) whose edges are surrounded by the frame 4 forms an insulating glazing together with the outer glass panel 3. The interior of the body 1 is visible therethrough; disposed therein is a plurality of bottle carriers 7, each formed by front and rear horizontal carriers 8 and cylindrical-segment-shaped shells 9 suspended between the carriers.

A handle 10 attached to the outer glass panel 3 is screwed in the frame 4 through two holes in the glass panel 3.

FIG. 2 shows a section through an edge region of the door 2. In this case, the outer glass panel 3 is connected to the outer frame part 12 of the frame 4 by means of an adhesive layer 11. The outer frame part 12 is joined together from four extruded profile pieces, e.g., of aluminium which each extend along an edge region of the outer panel 3.

The inner glass panel 3 is connected to the outer glass panel 3 by means of a spacer element 26, which can comprise an aluminium profile for example, as is known from window construction for buildings, and which interconnects the two glass panels 3, 6 hermetically by means of gluing or putty. The two glass panels 3, 6 and the spacer element 26 can be pre-assembled using techniques known from insulated glass window construction and the intermediate space between the glass panels 3, 6 can be filled with a known gas having a better insulation capacity than air.

Before joining together the two glass panels 3, 6, an opaque decoration 27 is applied to the back of the outer glass panel 3 in an edge region, e.g. by screen printing, which decoration extends from the edge of the pane 3 inwards as far as over the spacer element 26 to conceal this and the frame 4 on the ready-mounted door.

Formed on an inner side of the outer frame part 12 are two laterally undercut grooves 17 in which respectively one web of a hollow profile 28 made of plastic engages in a form- and force-locking fashion. The hollow profile 28 produces a rigid connection to an inner frame part 19 which is likewise provided with grooves 17 in which webs of the hollow profile 28 engage.

In the edge region of the door 2 the hollow profile 28 is substantially responsible for the thermal insulation effect which, on the one hand as a result of its small cross-sectional area and on the other hand, as a result of the fact that it consists of a poorly heat-conducting plastic, presents a considerable heat transfer resistance. A further contribution to the insulation effect comes about because the inner frame part 19 and the outer frame part 12 are hollow profile elements in which heat transport is substantially only possible along the walls.

Here, the inner frame part 19 is separated from the inner glass panel 6 by a gap which is filled with a circumferential foam strand 29. At its side facing the glass panel 6, the foam strand 29 has a plurality of easily deformable ribs 30 which nestle closely against the glass panel 6. On the opposing side the strand 29 is anchored on the inner frame part 19 by a projection 31 which engages in positive contact into an undercut groove of the frame part 19. The strand blocks heat transport by flow of air between the back of the outer pane 3 and the interior of the store cupboard.

Direct contact of cold air from the interior of the store cupboard with the hollow profile 28 and the outer frame part 12 is prevented by a flexible seal 23. The seal 23 is anchored in a groove 32 which is formed on the one hand by the inner frame part 19 and on the other hand by a rib 33 which is thickened at the end and protrudes from the hollow profile 28 towards the body 1. On a side facing away from the anchoring the seal 23 is filled with ferromagnetic material in a fashion known per se on an opposing side so that it nestles tightly against the front of the body 1 as a result of magnetic force when the door is closed.

The magnetic seal 23 has a flexible tongue 34 which, when the door 2 is closed, nestles against its back over the entire length of the outer frame part 12 and thus closes a cavity 35 between the rib 33 and the outer frame part 12 in an airtight fashion and thereby contributes additionally to the thermal insulating effect of the door in the area of the seal 23.

Since the inner frame part 19 has no supporting function and is exposed to no strong mechanical loadings, it can be executed as very thin-walled which likewise improves its insulating effect or, instead of metal, it can be made of a comparatively better-insulating plastic material. Another possible modification is to construct the inner frame part 19 in one part with the plastic hollow profile 28. 

1-14. (canceled)
 15. A refrigerator, comprising: a door including a frame and insulated glazing; said insulated glazing including at least one outer pane and an inner pane fixed to said outer pane forming an intermediate tight space therebetween; said frame fixed to said outer pane in a marginal area of said outer pane, said frame projecting over the edge of said inner pane; and a gap between said inner pane and said frame is filled by a sealing strip preventing any contact of said inner pane and said frame.
 16. The refrigerator according to claim 15, including said sealing strip is compressible.
 17. The refrigerator according to claim 15, including said frame including an outer frame part affixed to an outer pane, an inner frame part adjacent to said inner pane and a thermal insulating element fixedly connecting said two frame parts.
 18. The refrigerator according to claim 17, including said compressible sealing strip attached between said inner pane and said inner frame part.
 19. The refrigerator according to claim 17, including said thermal insulation element is a plastic element which engages in grooves formed at least in said outer frame part in positive contact therewith.
 20. The refrigerator according to claim 19, including said grooves are at least locally undercut.
 21. The refrigerator according to claim 7i, including said thermal insulation element is a hollow profile.
 22. The refrigerator according to claim 15, including said frame does not extend over the edge of said outer pane.
 23. The refrigerator according to claim 15, including said frame is glued to said outer pane.
 24. The refrigerator according to claim 15, including said outer pane provided with an opaque decoration at least in an area where said opaque decoration is affixed on said frame.
 25. The refrigerator according to claim 24, including said decoration attached to the surface of said outer pane facing said inner pane.
 26. The refrigerator according to claim 17, including a flexible sealing profile held by a groove formed in said frame, said flexible sealing profile bounded at least by said inner frame part and said thermal insulation element.
 27. The refrigerator according to claim 17, including said inner frame part, said thermal insulation element and said outer frame part are adjacent to one another from inside to outside in a plane parallel to said inner pane. 